Pull

ABSTRACT

The following specification describes a drawer pull bail having a cam lug thereon for engagement with concealed stop surfaces on the door pull posts journalling the bail to prevent excessive upward or downward rotation of the bail.

United States Patent 1 [111 3,769,655

Cartwright I Nov. 6, 1973 [54] PULL 34,387 2/1862 Wodster 16/126 [75] inventor: Robert S. Cartwright, Booneville, FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATXON'S 434,303 8/1935 Great Britain 16/112 [73] Assignee: Stewart-Warner Corporation,

Chicago, Primary ExaminerBobby R. Gay [22] Filed: Man 18 1968 Assistant Examiner-Doris L. Troutman Attorney-Augustus G. Douvas, William J. Newman PP 713,571 and Norton Lesser [52] U.S.Ill. 16/126 57 ABSTRACT 51 int. A47b 5 02 E 6 Field of Search I u 16 The following specification describes a drawer pull bail I I having a cam lug thereon for engagement with con [56] References Cited cealed stop surfaces on the door pull posts journalling the bail to prevent excessive upward or downward rota- UNITED STATES PATENTS tion of the ha 3,204,286 9/1965 Hillenbrand 16/112 235,299 12/1880 Routh 16/126 1 Claim, 5 Drawing Figures PAIENTEBnuv s 1915 f/VVE/YTUP PULL DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention This invention relates in general to drawer or cabinet pulls and more particularly to stop surfaces formed on a drawer pull post for cooperation with a cam lug on the bail to prevent the bail from engaging or striking an adjacent drawer surface on either upward or downward rotation.

2. Background of the Invention The invention has its origin in the requirement for preventing a pivotable or swinging type metal handle or bail of a cabinet or drawer pull from striking and marring an adjacent wood or plastic surface of a wall on which the pull is mounted.

The bail is pivotably mounted on one or more posts or studs, which are fastened to the front wall of a drawer or cabinet and the bail normally hangs downwardly under the influence of gravity in a plane generally parallel to the front wall. To open the drawer the bail is grasped and rotated upwardly and an outward force is exerted to open the drawer. As sometimes happens during rotation or when the bail is released to pivot downwardly, the metal bail strikes the front wood or plastic wall of the drawer.

Protruding lugs can be provided on the bail for engaging the post trim before the bail strikes the wood, when the bail is released for downward pivoting. Such lugs are often provided on the portion of the bail that faces the drawer and are on the downward or unseen side of the bail when the bail is rotated upwardly,- but they cannot serve to stop upward rotation ofthe bail. Provision of similar lugs on the opposite portion of the bail would, however, be unsightly and add to the expense of the pull.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention, therefore, proposes a hidden cam or cam lug on the bail for engagement with hidden formed surfaces on the post to stop rotation of the bail, before the bail can strike the surface of the drawer or cabinet or the like and upon which it is mounted either on upward or downward rotation.

encircle the bail spindle but have axially extending end stop surfaces to engage the bail lug for terminating movement of the bail in respective opposite directions when the bail is in either a substantially horizontal plane or a downwardly extending vertical plane.

It is therefore a primary object of the present invention to provide esthetically and economically improved stop apparatus for avoiding excessive rotation of a drawer pull bail in either of two directions.

The foregoing and other objects of the invention will become apparent on examination of the following specification, claims and drawings.

DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front elevational view of an assembled drawer pull incorporating the principles of the invention;

FIG. 2 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along a vertical plane adjacent one of the drawer pull posts to illustrate the manner in which the assembly is mounted on the front wall of a drawer and the cooperation between the post stop surfaces and thebail lug;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view of one of the posts;

FIG. 4 is a bottom elevational view of one of the posts with a portion of the bail associated therewith indicated in broken lines; and 1 FIG. 5 illustrates a portion of the drawer pull trim.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENT -In FIG. 1 of the drawings an assembled drawer pull is indicated by the reference character 10. The assembled pull 10 comprises a pair of spaced posts 12 and 14 having respective trim flanges 16. A bail 18 is rotatably suspended between the two posts 12 and 14 by means of end spindles 20 and 22 projecting along a common axis and passing through an opening 24 in a respective post 12 and 14, seen in FIGS. 2-, 3 and 4. The spindle portions 20 and 22 are connected by means of an eccentric arcuate handle portion 26, which may have a decorative section 28 thereon and whose eccentric weight normally rotates the spindles so that portion 26 hangs downward in a generally vertical plane.

Each post 12 and 14 comprises an elongate body portion 30 having an enlarged generally spherical head portion 32 at one end in which the openings 24 are formed. The other end of each post 12 and 14 is inserted through a noncircular aperture 34 in a respective post trim flange 16 into an end of an appropriate aperture 36 in the front wall 38 of a drawer. A flange 40 formed intennediate the ends of each elongate body is seated in a recess of a respective post trim I6 and abuts the wall of the recess to hold the post trim 16 engaged with the front surface of the drawer. The portion of body 30 passing through aperture 34 is given a corresponding noncircular configuration so that the trim is normally nonrotatable relative the post. A screw 42 inserted through the opposite end of drawer aperture 36 and threaded into a threaded hole 43 in the body 30 serves to tighten the trim against the drawer and hold the assembly in position.

Each of the heads 12 and 14 is cut away adjacent opposite ends of each opening 24 to form a guideway or recess 44 extending axially of and about the lower and inner quadrants of each opening 24 as viewed in FIG. 2. The guideways are each terminated at the outer end as viewed in FIG. 2 by a downwardly extending vertical surface 46. Surface 46 is tangent to opening 24 at the point furthest from the drawer to define one axially extending stop wall for a cam lug 48 integrally formed adjacent the inner end of each spindle 20 and 22. The guideway 44 along the lower quadrant is simply defined by a radially extending wall which meets the outer sperical'surface of the post head so that the cam lug may rotate freely in this portion of the guideway. As the guideway 44 approaches the back of the flange 40 a recess postion is formed just below the horizontal axis of the post to provide an axially extending second stop wall 50 for cam lug 48. The stop wall 50 curves radially inward about the axis of opening 24 with its radial distance from the axis of opening 24 becoming less than the radial distance of lug 48 from the axis adjacent the horizontal axis of the post. Both of the stop walls 46 and 50 are hidden by the outer spherical surface of the posts so that the posts 12 and 14 present esthetically curved surfaces when viewed from above or in front of the drawer and extend axially a sufficient distance to hide the cam lug 48 on the respective spindle.

Each cam lug 48 is defined by two intersecting arcuate axially extending surfaces 52 and 54 initiated approximately 180 apart on the respective spindle and meeting along a line passing through the spindle axis generally perpendicular to the plane of the bail 18. The cam lugs 48 project from the axis of spindles 20 and 22 a distance slightly greater than the radial distance from the axis of opening 24 to stop walls 46 and 50. Lugs 48 are spaced on the respective spindles so that each nests in the inner guideway 44 of a respective post 12 and 14, when the posts are mounted on a drawer. Since each post 12 and 14 has a guideway 44 on opposite sides of hole 24, each post may be used interchangeably as a right or left hand post and still properly engage with the cam lugs. The axial extent of each lug 48 is such that they are generally invisible in the associated guideway except when viewed from below the post, where the guideways extend to the outer boundary of the post head.

When the bail is hanging under the influence of gravity each cam lug 48 projects inwardly toward the drawer where it engages the surface defined by arcuate wall 50. Any tendency of the bail to rotate clockwise towards the drawer, as seen in FIG. 2, is thus resisted by the engagement of lug against the portion of surface 50 curving toward the post opening thereby wedging the spindle against the upper right quadrant of the opening and preventing rotation of the bail 18 against the drawer surface.

On upward or counterclockwise rotation of the bail, as seen in FIG. 2, each cam lug 48 rotates out of engagement with the curved surface 50 whereafter the bail rotates without hindrance. As upward rotation of the bail continues, the cam lugs 48 engage the respective stop wall 46 as indicated by broken lines 56, to prevent further bail rotation and striking the drawer on upward or counterclockwise rotation, as seen in FIG. 2.

Thereafter when the bail 18 is released, it rotates downward and the cam lugs 48 again engage surface 50 when the bail is in a substantially vertical plane to prevent the bail 18 from striking the drawer.

The foregoing is a description of one embodiment of the invention whose inventive concepts are believed set forth in the accompanying claims.

What is claimed is:

l. A pull comprising an arcuate bail having a spindle at opposite ends, a pair of posts each adapted to be atfixed at spaced positions to a wall, a spherically shaped head at one end of each post spaced from said wall with each head having a passageway therein for receiving a respective spindle to rotatably support said bail for rotation towards said drawer wall in either of two directions, a cam lug integrally formed on each spindle and projecting radially from the respective spindle in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the bail, a guideway formed in each head adjacent one end of each passageway and extending axially of the respective spindle in each passageway for receiving a respective cam lug, and axially extending stop surfaces formed in said head for defining opposite ends of each guideway with one of said stop surfaces located for engaging said cam lug in response to said bail being rotated upwardly toward said drawer wall and before said bail engages said wall and the other of said stop surfaces located for engaging said cam lug in response to said bail rotating downwardly toward said drawer wall and before said bail engages said wall, said one stop surface comprising a wall extending downwardly from the horizontal axis of said post along a tangent line to said passageway, said other stop surface formed by a wall initiated at a point spaced radially outward of said lug and curving radially inwardly and upwardly toward said passageway to a point coincident with the periphery of said passageway whereby free rotation of said bail in a downward direction under the influence of gravity engages each lug with the respective curved wall to wedge the respective spindles in the respective passageways for bringing said bail to a gradual halt. 

1. A pull comprising an arcuate bail having a spindle at opposite ends, a pair of posts each adapted to be affixed at spaced positions to a wall, a spherically shaped head at one end of each post spaced from said wall with each head having a passageway therein for receiving a respective spindle to rotatably support said bail for rotation towards said drawer wall in either of two directions, a cam lug integrally formed on each spindle and projecting radially from the respective spindle in a direction substantially perpendicular to the plane of the bail, a guideway formed in each head adjacent one end of each passageway and extending axially of the respective spindle in each passageway for receiving a respective cam lug, and axially extending stop surfaces formed in said head for defining opposite ends of each guideway with one of said stop surfaces located for engaging said cam lug in response to said bail being rotated upwardly toward said drawer wall and before said bail engages said wall and the other of said stop surfaces located for engaging said cam lug in response to said bail rotating downwardly toward said drawer wall and before said bail engages said wall, said one stop surface comprising a wall extending downwardly from the horizontal axis of said post along a tangent line to said passageway, said other stop surface formed by a wall initiated at a point spaced radially outward of said lug and curving radially inwardly and upwardly toward said passageway to a point coincident with the periphery of said passageway whereby free rotation of said bail in a downward direction under the influence of gravity engages each lug with the respective curved wall to wedge the respective spindles in the respective passageways for bringing said bail to a gradual halt. 